Faculty Associate Creates Program to Help Shy Middle School Girls

Posted on May 29, 2013

Schubert Center Faculty Associate Amy Przeworski and clinical psychology doctoral student Emily Pucci recently announced the creation of Girls Link, a program to help shy and anxious girls. The program will teach girls between age 10 and 14 to handle rejection, teasing, fears and negative feelings, as well as provide them with important coping resources. In an article in the Case Daily, Pucci notes the importance of intervening with these girls in early adolescence, saying “Early adolescence is a time in which we see a large spike in the number of females with anxiety and depression symptoms.” The program will make up a component of Pucci’s doctoral research, which is aimed at creating shorter alternatives to traditional interventions for shyness, which take months to complete.

The program will consist of two groups, each of which will meet for 5 sessions at area libraries. One group will be a peer support groups aimed at increasing social contacts and fostering friendship, while the other will be a skills group teaching girls problem-solving skills to cope with some of the stresses of early adolescence. The program will be offered this summer at Cuyahoga County Library branches in Beachwood, Brecksville, and North Olmstead, with future locations and schedules to be announced.